


Right Place, Wrong Time

by my1alias



Series: Right Place [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dad!Thace mentioned, Fluff, Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Lotor mentioned - Freeform, M/M, Photoshoot AU, Shallura if you squint, Thirsty Keith, Zarkon mentioned, competent lance, director!Coran, lighting!Hunk, makeup artists!Allura and !Shay, model!Keith?, model!Lance, non-binary Pidge, photographer!shiro, techie!Pidge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-25
Updated: 2018-04-25
Packaged: 2019-04-27 21:55:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14434905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/my1alias/pseuds/my1alias
Summary: Keith gets accidentally brought into a photoshoot for the new men’s clothing store Lotor. When he catches sight of his “boyfriend” for the duration of the shoot, Lance, he decides to go through with it. What could be the harm?





	Right Place, Wrong Time

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at VLD fanfiction, although I've read a lot of it. I'm so impressed by the quality of the writing in this fandom, and I was a little intimidated to post my own, but here we go! I hope you like it.
> 
> Many thanks to my betas, [gilove2dance](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gilove2dance) and my husband (no account).

Keith let go of the doorknob to rub his eyes, in hopes that would get rid of the sight before him. Spoiler; it didn’t.

He was about to shut the door when a vibrant, orange-mustached man appeared in front of him with a grin.

“Great! You’re here!” the man exclaimed, pulling Keith inside the suite of rooms by the hand. “Number two is here!” he announced loudly to the room. Then, to Keith, “Let’s get you to hair and makeup. No time to waste! Shiro is already setting up!”

“Umm…” Keith blinked, bewildered, as he was led further into the chaos that was the room. There were multiple clothing racks arranged with brightly coloured garments, boxes blocking part of the archway into the next room, several pairs of shoes lined up by size against the wall, and a makeup station set up by the TV. The coffee table was pushed away from the couch, and shoved against the window, with more boxes, empty from the looks of it, piled on top.

“You must be new. Everyone knows Shiro. Best photographer around! I’m Coran, of course. And here’s your makeup artist, Allura. Sit. You’re in good hands.” With that, Coran left him in the living room portion of the suite and zipped away to a clothing rack to start rifling through the numerous garments hanging there.

“You get used to him,” chuckled Allura. “You might as well get out of your jacket and shirt now. Go on.” She took Keith’s shoulder bag from him and waited for him to strip.

“But…” Keith hesitated. “I’m not –“

“Not used to stripping in front of girls?” Allura waved the concern aside with a hand. “Don’t worry about it. In this industry, you get used to being fully naked in front of a lot more people than just in a photoshoot! What are you going to do at your first runway, hmm?” She prodded Keith until he slowly started to shrug off his jacket.

“Photoshoot?” He managed to get the word out, despite the turmoil in his brain. He dropped his jacket into Allura’s hands and grabbed the hem of his black t-shirt.

Allura raised an eyebrow. “The photoshoot today? That you’re here for? For _Lotor_ , the new clothing store for men? You’re not used to getting up early for shoots yet, are you? You’ll get there.” She eyed his shirt again. “Now hurry up. We haven’t got all day, you know. The best light is early light.”

Keith sighed and yanked his shirt over his head, dropping it over the back of the makeup chair that he sat in. “But I still don’t understand –“

“The concept is simple,” Allura cut him off, firmly holding his chin in her hand as she proceeded to smear cosmetics on his face. “You are to portray the owner of the house, and Lance will be your boyfriend.”

Keith made a choked noise. “Who?”

Allura dusted powder over his face. “Oh you’ll meet Lance in a few minutes. He’s over there –” she gestured to the archway to another section of the suite, not quite visible from where Keith was sitting “–getting his own makeup and hair done by Shay. Of course, his hair is much shorter than yours, so he’ll be done before you.” She put down the powder brush and fluffed his hair a bit. “We can do a couple of different hairstyles for you. Maybe a ponytail for some of the fully clothed shots?” She ignored his sputtering and busied herself at the table, picking out a blush and eyeshadow. “For the eyeshadow, I generally tend to go very neutral, unless you prefer bold colours?” When Keith shook his head, wide-eyed, she grinned at him. “I didn’t think so. But we’ll highlight your eyes with a bit of eyeliner. That will really make them pop on camera.”

She continued to chat away about brands and tones of colour as she fluttered around Keith competently, and he tuned her out.

_What is going on?_

Letting his mind drift, Keith thought back to an hour ago, when all he was looking forward to was his bed. He had taken a red eye home from a law conference, and he was exhausted, even though he had gotten a little sleep on the plane. Then he walked into his dads’ house and up to his suite, and into a photoshoot?

_Maybe I’m still asleep on the plane._

But he remembered the taxi home, and he didn’t think his imagination was good enough to come up with characters like Coran.

He tuned back in to Allura as she was talking about the photoshoot again.

“You’ll be in different poses around the suite, wearing different items from _Lotor_ in each location of course. I think they’ll leave the new underwear line for the bed. Or maybe the pyjamas for the bed? Hmm…” she paused, tip of her tongue sticking out of her mouth as she applied mascara to his eyelashes. “Or they could put you in the underwear on the window seat. That would look good with the backlight and the sheer draperies. Play around with shadows…”

“Leave the wardrobe and planning to Coran, hun.” A new voice, deep and friendly, came from behind Keith. “He already has everything set up for me to take the shots.”

Allura glanced up and beamed. “Oh, I know, Shiro. But it’s nice to guess!”

Coran bounced over to the trio with a shirt and pants draped over his arm. “First outfit for you!” He thrust the items into Keith’s hands. “By the by, what’s your name, new fella?”

Allura gasped. “Oh my gosh, I didn’t even think! I must be more tired than I thought!”

They all looked at him expectantly. “Uh, my name’s Keith?”

“Nice to meetcha Keith!” Coran grinned, twirled his moustache, and bowed grandly. “Get dressed. Lance is waiting for you.”

“I still need to do something with Keith’s hair!” wailed Allura. Shiro slipped away as Allura grabbed a brush. “We’ll have to just do a quick ponytail. Hurry and put on your clothes!”

Keith scrambled to get out of the chair, almost falling on his face from the unexpected height, before undoing his belt and embarrassed, slipped his pants off.

“Socks off too,” Coran called out from the opening to the other room, as he rummaged through a box.

Obligingly, he took his socks off before hopping into the tight skinny jeans that were provided for him.

“No, no, no!” Coran shouted as he appeared in front of Keith again. “Your boxers will ruin the line of the jeans!”

“Uhh,” Keith blushed, embarrassed. “Then what do I…?”

Coran held out a beige mass. “Just slip that on, then, there’s a good lad.”

Keith stared at the foreign object in his hand.

“Don’t worry, it’s brand new from the box! It’s yours to keep. We don’t reuse dance belts,” Coran joked as he slapped Keith’s bare shoulder.

Knowing the name of the object didn’t help Keith understand how to put it on.

Allura sighed. “Just use the bathroom. Through that arch, the doors straight ahead, and then the door on the left.” To Coran, she said, “he’s new. Still a little shy about stripping down.”

Keith scurried towards his own bathroom with the dance belt, jeans still halfway on. He caught sight of the aforementioned Lance in his office, which was what he used the second part of the suite for, elbow propped against a bookshelf, dressed in a crisp white dress shirt, and a smirk on his face as he posed for Shiro’s camera. His beauty took Keith’s breath away. Keith continued through to his bedroom, passing by a tall man fiddling with light boxes and a small person crouched over a computer, a look of intense concentration on their face. He was grateful that he could take a moment and closed the bathroom door before leaning against it briefly.

“What the hell?” he breathed. Then he straightened up. “I don’t have to do this! This is my house!” His shoulders slumped. “But they’ve already put so much work into me. And there’s Lance…” His heart sped up and he swallowed hard. He hadn’t had much of a chance to look at Lance, but the glimpse he did catch left a favourable impression. “I wouldn’t mind giving this a shot to be closer to him.” He winced at the unintentional pun.

Mind made up, Keith tackled the dance belt. It wasn’t really all that complicated, once he was away from the crowd. It snugged in around his pelvis, tucking him in and making him feel like a Ken doll. He tossed his boxers in the laundry chute before realizing he should have walked out with them. “They’ll be too busy to notice,” he hoped, as he wiggled into the skinny jeans a second time. There was no way he could cross to his closet to grab another pair of boxers with all the people in his rooms.

He permitted himself a glance of longing at his bed as he left the bathroom, taking note of the new duvet and pillows from _Lotor_ spread across it, and lights being strategically placed around the mahogany four-poster by the tall man. His insides squirmed with anxiety. Definitely one session there. He continued into the office, with Lance still posing for Shiro.

Lance shot him a finger gun and wink as he said, “Hello, boyfriend. Come and join me!” He slipped back into his pose before Keith had a chance to do more than blush, so he hurried back to Allura to grab his shirt and allow her to put his hair up in a ponytail.

“Took you long enough. Sit.” Allura roughly brushed his hair while his fingers fumbled with the buttons on the raspberry-red dress shirt he had been given. It was satin-smooth and slid over his skin like cream.

Allura finished with his hair before he could do up all the buttons, so he walked slowly back into his office as he did up the last few.

“Good. You’re ready!” Coran pulled him into the shot against the bookcases, next to Lance. “Get to know each other. You’re in a long-term relationship and should feel comfortable moving into each other’s spaces.”

“Hi, I’m Lance, your boyfriend.” Lance was a little taller than Keith and he used that to his advantage, hovering over him with a tiny smirk on his face.

Keith could feel his face heating up. “Keith,” he replied, a little breathlessly. “Nice to meet you.”

Lance’s smile grew, and he angled his body slightly into Keith’s space. His hand rose to brush an errant lock of hair behind Keith’s ear. “I heard you’re new at this. Just follow my lead. And if you get into trouble, I don’t mind offering pointers.”

“You have no idea,” mumbled Keith, allowing his head to tilt and fall into Lance’s hand so that he cupped his cheek.

“Hold that,” called Shiro.

A couple of beats and then Lance rearranged their positions slightly, Keith leaning back against the solid bookcases, Lance leaning into him.

Then Coran insisted that Keith’s shirtsleeves be rolled up. “Your forearms are too defined to be hidden,” he claimed.

Once the extra skin was exposed, Lance pulled Keith in for a half-hug. “Wrap your arm up my back to hold onto my shoulder,” Lance breathed into Keith’s ear.

“Hold that,” Shiro called out again, after Keith had followed Lance’s instructions.

“Look at me,” whispered Lance.

When their eyes met, Keith felt like he was drowning. He never wanted to breathe again. He barely felt Lance shift, and his hand slipped down from Lance’s shoulder to hold his hand.

“Hold,” came Shiro’s voice from far away. Or maybe it was the rushing in Keith’s ears that made him sound far away.

Keith’s eyes flicked to Lance’s lips. They looked soft. He dragged his eyes away and could see the slight humour in the twinkle of Lance’s eyes.

“We have good chemistry, don’t we,” whispered Lance. He dropped his head a bit, eyes still focussed on Keith’s. “I definitely wouldn’t mind being partnered with you again.”

All Keith had to do, he realized dazedly, was lift his chin and their lips would connect. Before he had the chance to act, Coran was calling for the next location.

“Pidge says we’ve got plenty of excellent shots in here, so we’ll move on to the pyjamas on the bed!” he exclaimed with a clap of his hands. “Quickly now! The sun is about to rise!”

“Actually, Coran,” interrupted Shiro, running a hand through his closely cropped hair. “I overheard Allura suggest using the window seat for the underwear shot. I think that the first light would be better put to use there.”

“Hmm,” Coran considered the idea, going to the bedroom door and eyeing the window beside the bed. The seat had a sky blue cushion, and was wide enough for someone to sit with their legs curled up beside them. “The reds of the sunrise are creating a good glow there. Alright!” He gestured to air. “Let’s get a move on! Hunk, move those lights, no, just two of them, over to the window. Someone grab cushions from that box over there! Boys! Here, get into these –“ He reached into an open box in the doorway and pulled out two packages of underwear, tossing them at the desk. “Lance, the briefs, Keith, the boxer briefs. And hurry! We don’t want to lose the light!”

Caught up in the rush, Keith ripped open the package beside Lance. Shay and Allura were at their sides, undoing buttons and ripping clothes off the boys. Keith didn’t have time to feel self-conscious as he quickly slipped into the red boxer briefs assigned to him, and followed behind Lance into the bedroom. He tried not the stare at the dimples on Lance’s lower back peeking out over the top of Lance’s black briefs.

Hunk, the tall man who had been adjusting the lights earlier, was shifting the last light into place.

“Onto the seat, boys,” Coran directed. “Lance, you sit. Prop your legs up, lean back. Yes, that’s it!” Coran was almost wiggling in excitement. “Now Keith, you stand over him, go on, lean against the opposite wall. Up on your toes to give a better line, yes! Perfect. Now, look at each other. Aww, you’ve got me believing in love at first sight, boys!”

“Hold,” Shiro said calmly, his camera clicking away.

Lance reached up casually and popped Keith’s knee out a bit, resting a hand on it.

“Good, hold,” said Shiro.

“Keith, drop down and hover over Lance,” Coran said after a second. “Not on your knees, you’re too short for that, on your toes. Rest your hand on the wall behind Lance’s head. The other on his shoulder. Flatten your back, yes!”

“Hold,” came Shiro’s voice.

Keith’s muscles were screaming at him, the awkward half crouch on the tips of his toes making his thigh muscles burn. Lance’s eyes told him that he knew how much discomfort he was in, and after a couple beats, Lance pulled Keith down into a straddle.

“Move your knee back a bit, so it’s not blocking the camera’s view of my underwear,” Lance instructed.

“Arch your back,” called Coran.

“Hold.”

The position was still uncomfortable, but more bearable, Keith thought. He moved his arm in the foreground so that he was bracing his weight on his knuckles against the seat. It forced his body weight further forwards, his face separated from Lance’s by centimetres. He could feel Lance’s breath wash across his face, a minty coolness that abruptly made him very aware of the state of his own breath. Why hadn’t he brushed his teeth while he had been in the bathroom?

Lance tilted his head up and their lips brushed.

“Hold!”

“Close your eyes, Keith,” ordered Coran.

Keith slammed his eyelids shut, before loosening the tightness in his face, reminding himself that the character he was portraying was madly in love with Lance’s. He wouldn’t be terrified out of his wits from a simple innocent brush of the lips.

“Good! We got it!” A new voice startled Keith into sitting upright. It was the person at the computer.

“Great idea!” Coran exploded, making Keith jump again. Suddenly, there were hands shifting Lance’s body to lie down, and then Keith was being prompted to lean back against Lance’s knees. “Arch your back, Keith. More, more, yes! Good!”

“Hold.”

Keith’s abs were stretched to their limit, and he was gaining a new appreciation for the work that models did. Who knew that posing was so strenuous?

“I have an idea,” said Lance. “Relax, Keith. Sit on your heels for a minute.” Lance shifted underneath him, sitting up again. “Okay, lean up again.”

Once Keith was in position, Lance wrapped his arms around Keith’s waist, and placed his hands high up on his back, supporting his weight. He rested his cheek lightly on Keith’s abdomen, face towards the camera.

“Hold.”

“You’re a natural, Keith!” squeaked Coran. “Catch that light!”

Keith had no idea how to catch that light.

“Tilt your head to the right by five degrees,” whispered Lance, shifting his head to press his lips to Keith’s hipbone through the material.

“Hold.”

Keith followed Lance’s suggestion, which worked, given Coran’s excitement, and tried to ignore the heat pooling deep in his belly at the suggestive pose they were currently in.

Lance brought a hand from Keith’s back to pull the waistband of the underwear down, exposing the skin over his hip, and replaced his mouth. Keith’s hips arched involuntarily.

He was grateful for the snug dance belt.

“Hold!”

“Sunrise is gone,” computer-person said after Shiro put the camera down. “Great shots.”

“Thanks, Pidge,” said Shiro, a shy smile in place as he got up from the awkward half-crouch in front of the window seat.

“Okay, we still want to take advantage of the early morning light, so into pyjamas, boys! Quickly now!” Coran herded them back into the living room, where the clothing was hanging on their racks. “Hunk, you know what to do better than I do with the lights,” he called back over his shoulder.

“You betcha,” Hunk called back, followed by a deep booming chuckle.

Allura and Shay were ready for them with pyjamas. Keith felt like he had barely had a chance to appreciate the softness of the underwear before he had to strip out of them and into the pyjamas. He was given a standard pair of men’s pyjamas, in charcoal light silk, with a drawstring ribbon on the waist and buttons down the front of the shirt.

“You should leave that open.” Lance winked, gesturing to Keith’s shirt, before pulling the aqua blue t-shirt of his own pyjamas over his head, hiding the V that dipped into his dark blue plaid pyjama bottoms. Shay helped him in an attempt to protect the integrity of his makeup.

“Pull your hair out of the ponytail,” Allura suggested to Keith, drawing his attention away from Lance’s hips. “And Lance, your makeup needs touching up on your right cheek.”

“I’m just going to go to the bathroom real quick,” said Keith. “Since Lance will take a little longer to get ready.” He scurried off to the bathroom and grabbed his toothpaste. He squeezed a tiny bit onto his fingertip before licking it off and swishing it around his mouth. He stared at himself in the mirror, eyes wide. “Okay, pep talk. They seem happy with the photos, and no-one suspects I’m not supposed to be here.” He spared a thought for what kept the real model from arriving, and what might happen if and when he did show up. He shrugged. “No matter. I’m involved now.” He spat out the toothpaste and took a gulp of water directly from the tap to rinse his mouth, and hopefully remove the stronger traces of toothpaste. He looked into his eyes again. “You can do this. You’ve got this.” He blew out a breath and returned to the bedroom.

“Good, Keith, you’re ready,” Shiro gestured to the bed. “Do you mind getting started without Lance? He’ll be ready in a minute.”

Keith swallowed hard. “Sure, Shiro. How do you want me?”

“Just on the bed. Act natural, and we’ll go from there,” Shiro replied.

Butterflies in his stomach, Keith sat on the edge of the bed and swung his legs up. He sat in this awkward position until Pidge snorted from their corner. “Dude. Just relax. Lie down like you would normally,” they said, not looking up from the screen in front of them.

Keith blushed and laid back on the pillow. He let his knees fall to the side, and rested a hand on his abdomen.

“Hold,” Shiro said quietly. Keith could see him climbing a ladder at the foot of the bed. “Nice. Close your eyes.”

After a few moments, Keith shifted so that his legs were outstretched.

A few clicks of the camera later, Pidge looked up from her screen. “The lighting works well from that angle, Shiro. Try for some flat shots next?”

Keith propped himself up on his forearms to better see what was going on.

“Hold that,” exclaimed Shiro as he carefully descended the ladder. He set up, elbows resting on the end of the bed, and took a few shots before moving to the side of the bed and taking more from there. “Just a moment…” Shiro put one knee on the bed and reached forward, slipping the shoulder of Keith’s pyjama shirt off so it draped down his arm. “Perfect. And tilt your head just a tick, yes, there you go. Don’t move.” He got back off the bed and the camera clicked furiously.

“Seems my boyfriend is doing just fine without me,” teased Lance from the doorway.

“Yeah, looks like I don’t need you anymore,” joked Keith.

“Oh really?” Lance smirked as he slowly crawled onto the bed.

Keith’s heart rate increased as he watched Lance prowl towards him.

Lance stopped when he was directly over Keith on hands and knees, mouths millimetres apart, breaths mingling in the air between them.

“Hold.”

“Did you steal some toothpaste?” murmured Lance, barely moving his lips. His eyes sparkled with his amusement. “Your breath wasn’t _that_ bad before.”

Keith blushed. “I didn’t realize I’d be practically making out with such a handsome guy, and thought I’d better freshen up. I didn’t take much.”

Lance preened at the compliment. “We don’t want your preparations to go to waste, do we?” He ran his hand up Keith’s half-bare arm before tangling his fingers in the hair at the base of his skull. “Damn, your hair is even softer than it looks.”

That was all the warning Keith got before Lance tugged his head back and fused their mouths together.

“Hold.”

 _Oh God, I’m going to die._ He had already been holding that position for quite some time, and the added intensity from the kiss was making his arms quiver.

Although they couldn’t move their bodies, their tongues were hidden from view, and Lance immediately slipped his inside Keith’s mouth to gently brush against the roof of his mouth.

Lance pulled back briefly, barely a breath between them. “This okay?” he whispered.

“More than,” replied Keith at the same volume, before reconnecting their lips.

“New position, please.” Shiro’s voice sounded amused. He was back on the top of the ladder, so quite some time must have passed without their realizing it.

Lance pushed back on Keith’s shoulders, forcing him to lie down again, and got comfortable on top of him, never letting their mouths part. He slid one leg in between Keith’s, aligning their pelvises.

A gasp smothered by Lance’s mouth, Keith slid a hand up his back, under the t-shirt. The other, he rested on Lance’s hip, mindful of the audience watching them. He’d rather grab his ass, and pull him into a slow grind against his body.

“Good, hold.”

“I feel like I’m watching porn,” Pidge grumbled in the corner after a few more clicks from the camera. “Starring my brother. Ick.”

Lance broke the kiss and rolled away from Keith with a giggle at Pidge. “Aww, I never knew you cared.”

“Yeah, yeah.” They brushed it off with a slight grin on their face. “Now I’ll never hear the end of it.”

Rolling back towards Keith, Lance propped himself up on his elbow and placed his other hand over Keith’s on his abdomen. “They are right, though. It was getting a little too steamy for an audience,” he murmured.

Keith tilted his head to look up at Lance. “But not too steamy if there wasn’t an audience?” he asked shyly.

“Hold.”

“If there wasn’t an audience, we wouldn’t be wearing pyjamas.” Lance winked at him.

A genuine smile bloomed across Keith’s face. Then he sobered as he remembered that he’d been lying (by omission) to everyone here since he walked into his room.

“Your body’s a little tense, Keith,” said Pidge.

“Pop your knee up, sweetheart,” Lance suggested, his hand creeping up Keith’s body to cup his jaw.

Keith flushed and followed the directions, as well as angling his body towards Lance. He slid a hand over Lance’s hip, pulling up the hem of his t-shirt in the process.

“Hold.”

Lance shivered at the light brush of Keith’s hand on his skin. “Your touch lights my nerves on fire.”

“What a line,” marvelled Keith, grinning.

“Not a line,” Lance murmured back. “You’re lighting me up from the inside out.”

Keith ghosted his thumb over Lance’s hip bone, dipping down to follow the oblique muscles of his V, and delighting in the slight shiver and goosebumps that followed. “Well, you _are_ hot,” he teased.

“Okay, not to break up the flirtatious banter going on, but we’ve got plenty of great shots now, and can move on to the last scene,” Pidge interrupted them.

“I look forward to seeing you in a suit, _mi amor_ ,” said Lance as he sat up. “I guess we have to go be romantic instead of sexy.”

“I think it’s impossible for you to stop being sexy,” muttered Keith under his breath. He rolled off his bed and got to his feet.

“We’re almost all set up in the living room!” Coran’s energy burst into the room before the man himself. “So you’ll both get ready in the office. Keith, we have a suit picked out for you, and Lance, you’ll wear a waistcoat.”

“Sounds great, Coran,” replied Lance. He bounced out of the bed. “Let’s get the romance started!”

A thought hit Keith, and a mischievous smile crossed his face. _If I can pull this off, I bet it will knock everyone’s socks off!_

Allura and Shay were waiting for them in the office.

“Less of a rush to get ready for this scene, since Shiro won’t be using the natural light,” Allura said in greeting. “So we can make sure you two don’t look like you were just rolling around in a bed.”

“But Allura, my dove, we were doing just that!” exclaimed Lance with a grin.

“The photos won’t necessarily be in this order,” put in Shay. “We have to make sure they make sense independently, too.”

Keith lost track of the conversation as Lance slipped out of his pyjamas and hopped into his makeup chair in just his dancer’s belt. The sheer amount of beautiful skin on display made him feel dizzy.

“Keith!” Allura snapped her fingers in front of his face. “Into the chair. And take off your pyjamas.”

He flushed, both at being caught staring and at being so exposed.

Allura sighed. “I’ll give you a towel to drape over your lap, if that makes you feel better. But we don’t want any powder to fall on the pyjamas. We don’t own these – they’re borrowed from _Lotor_ , remember?”

“Right.” He swallowed hard, and quickly peeled off the pyjamas, giving them to Allura to put away. It was very different to take his time getting half-naked in front of people, compared to the rush of the earlier scenes.

Lance whistled lowly. “Looking good, Keith.” Shay had his chin in her hand as she applied touch ups, but Lance had managed to turn his head slightly so that he could keep an eye on Keith. Once he had Keith’s attention, he gave him a long, slow look that dragged over his entire body. He licked his lips. “Very good.”

“You’re not so bad yourself,” Keith managed to say around a tongue that felt tied in knots. He got into his makeup chair and self-consciously placed the towel Allura had left for him over his lap. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Lance chatting with Shay, completely unconcerned with his almost-nudity.

“He’s been with Altea Models for the past eight years,” said Allura, as she started to work on his face. “You may have seen some of his work in magazines or on storefronts. He’s been the model every season for _Zarkon_ and _Paladin_ since they opened.”

Keith recognized the store names, but couldn’t recall ever paying attention to the models on the walls. “That explains why he’s so good at this. And so comfortable in front of the camera,” he replied.

“You’ll get there. You’re a natural,” said Allura with a smile. She brushed powder over his face, and giggled when he sneezed. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Coran this happy with a photoshoot, and Pidge rarely cuts off a shoot unless they have plenty of good shots to work with.”

“No matter how uncomfortable they are?” asked Keith, blushing.

Allura frowned thoughtfully. “They were just teasing you two. You were acting exactly as was requested by the scene. I have to admit, your chemistry took us all by surprise at first, but you are professionals.” She patted his knee and went to get his suit. “It just goes to show how good you are at acting.”

“Acting. Right.” Keith glanced at Lance again. He was a professional model. An actor. And they had good chemistry in front of the camera. There was nothing else, no feelings hidden under the surface. _I don’t know him at all_ , Keith reminded himself. _And I wasn’t even supposed to be here._

Despite his inner turmoil, Keith decided to go ahead with his plan. Allura handed him black socks, which he put on before climbing down from his chair. Black slacks were handed over next, along with a thin, supple black belt. He left his pants undone so that he could tuck in his shirt, which was a deep vibrant red. “Is there a tie, or…?” he asked Allura, trailing off as he did up the buttons.

“No tie. Leave the top two buttons open,” Allura replied.

Keith tucked in his shirt and did up his pants and belt. _Note to self, buy everything from_ Lotor _from now on,_ he thought, the softness of the clothes caressing his body. The shirt fit him across the shoulders as if it had been tailored to his form, and the slacks hugged his hips without being obscene. He accepted the matching jacket from Allura and slipped it on, pleased to find that it was as comfortable as the rest of the clothing. “Wow,” he said, stretching his arms out, and swinging them around. “I don’t think I’m going to buy my clothes from anywhere else once _Lotor_ opens.”

Lance chuckled from behind him. “You might once you see the price tags.”

“Worth it,” replied Keith with a sigh. He turned around and his jaw dropped. If he had thought Lance had looked good before, it was nothing compared to now.

A royal blue shirt emphasized the blue-ness of his eyes. Shay had rolled up his sleeves to expose his forearms, and the muscles rippled under the smooth, darkly tanned skin. The light grey slacks fit his long legs and the curve of his ass perfectly. And the matching grey waistcoat… Keith had never given waistcoats the credit that they deserved. They made his shoulders look even broader, and his waist smaller. “You…you look incredible,” he stammered.

A light flush decorated Lance’s cheekbones. “Thanks. So do you.”

“Lance, if you’re ready, we could use you to test the lighting,” Shiro said from the archway.

“Sure thing,” replied Lance.

Keith moved to follow him.

“Oh no you don’t, loverboy.” Allura grabbed Keith’s arm and pulled him back to his chair. “I want to make sure your hair looks as nice as that suit.”

Keith grumbled half-heartedly, but he acquiesced to Allura’s demands and sat patiently in his chair as she fiddled with bobby pins, hair elastic, and brush. He could see Shiro through the archway, and knew that Lance must be sitting on the couch.

He also remembered his plan, which had disappeared along with every other thought in his head when he saw Lance. He looked around, despite Allura’s squeak of dismay, until he found his bag under her makeup station. With a sigh of relief, he submitted to her grumbles and kept his head still until she patted him on his shoulder.

“Don’t forget your shoes!” she said, pointing at several pairs of dress shoes next to the chair. “Pick your size.”

 _Perfect,_ he thought. As he was tying up the laces, he quickly reached into the front pocket of his bag to grab the item he was looking for. He slid it into his jacket pocket for safe-keeping as he stood.

Walking to the living room, he spotted some props in one of the boxes near the archway. Smiling, he pulled out a white rose. Now he strode forwards with purpose, breaking into Lance’s scene. He handed the rose to him with a bow, one hand behind his back.

“Hold.”

Lance looked up and took the flower with a smile. “For me? You shouldn’t have.”

“Hold!”

“Only the best for my favourite person in the world,” said Keith smoothly.

They held their positions for a few minutes before Lance stood up to face Keith. He linked their fingers. “Are you ready to go, babe? Our reservations are in half an hour and we still have to get there.”

“Hold.”

Keith swallowed a laugh at Lance’s fictional date. “No, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about first.”

He dropped to one knee, grateful that they had moved the coffee table out of the way, and fished the ring he had grabbed from his bag out of his pocket.

“Hold!” said Shiro excitedly.

Keith could hear squeaks of excitement from Coran and Allura.

Lance brought one hand to his mouth, eyes wide. “What…?”

“Hold that!”

“We’ve shared a lot of good times together, and you’ve taught me so much. Will you say you’ll be mine for the rest of our lives?” Keith improvised.

Lance dropped his hand to reveal a breathtaking smile. “Of course I will!” His eyes shone with unshed tears. He held out his left hand for Keith to slip the ring on.

“Hold!”

Keith looked at his ring resting against Lance’s tanned finger. His fathers had given him the simple titanium band when he had passed the bar. He usually wore it, but always took it off while flying simply out of habit. The inside was engraved with his full name and the bar date.

“Wear my ring with pride,” he said, and kissed Lance’s hand.

“Hold!” Shiro was sounding positively giddy as he danced around them.

Lance drew him up to a standing position, hands on each other’s waists. “You romantic, you!”

“Hold!”

They stared into each other’s eyes until they couldn’t resist the pull between them. Their lips met as they fell together, bodies pressed together without a breath of space. Lance’s hands found their way up to cup Keith’s cheeks.

“Hold.”

Lance’s tongue traced Keith’s lips, and he opened to him with a slight whimper. He leisurely explored Keith’s mouth with his tongue, leaving him panting and wanting more. They broke apart with a gasp, eyes glassy and pupils blown wide.

“Hold.”

“I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or a bad thing that we’re not going back into the bedroom,” whispered Keith, his breath warm against Lance’s lips.

“Good thing,” replied Lance, cheeks flushed, his eyes focused on the lips in front of him. “What I want to do to you isn’t appropriate for an audience. Or a bed that’s not owned by us.”

Keith swallowed hard, reminded himself that Lance was a very good actor, and shot back with, “That makes two of us.”

“Okay boys, that’s a wrap! Excellent job, both of you!” Coran’s voice cut through the moment, snapping them back to reality. “I’ll be sure to write a very good review of you to Alfor, Keith. I think you’ll be getting a lot more contracts after this! Lance, you were impeccable as always.”

“Keith! That was such a brilliant idea!” exclaimed Allura. “So romantic, and it gave some amazing shots!”

The excitement of finishing a project swept over the room. Chaos reigned as clothing was removed from the models and packed away, props put back into the boxes, lights collapsed into surprisingly small packages, and all the cords wound up and put away.

Keith grabbed his bag and slipped away, unnoticed. He hurried down two flights of stairs to the basement, where his Dad Thace’s office was. He booted up the computer, pulled the professional letterhead from the cloud drive, and started to write.

~*~*~

When they all got back to Altea Models’ headquarters, there was a bouquet of flowers and a letter at the desk.

“What’s this?” asked Coran.

“It just arrived,” replied Nyma. “The letter is for you, but the flowers are for Lance.”

“For me?” asked Lance. He looked confused. “Who are they from?”

“There’s a card, but I didn’t open it,” she answered him, tossing her long blonde hair over her shoulder.

He quickly ripped open the envelope to find a simple card. “I’m sorry for lying. I hope you can forgive me. I did have fun. Keith.”

“What?” gasped Lance. He glanced down at the ring still on his finger. Coran had said that it didn’t belong to the stock from _Lotor_ , and that it must have been Keith’s. So Lance had looked for Keith, but he had vanished. Despondent, Lance assumed he’d simply left early, and he could get his number and return the ring when they crossed paths at the agency. “What did he lie about?”

“Ah, I think my letter explains that,” said Coran, a puzzled frown on his face. “It seems that he is not a model with our agency. He was simply in the right place at the wrong time, and got roped into the photoshoot by accident. He said that a letter from a lawyer removing his rights to the photos and absolving Altea Models from any legal action will arrive shortly. He apologizes for not trying harder to explain the situation, and for lying to all of us.” He chuckled. “No wonder he was so confused, poor boy.”

“But what was he doing there in the first place?” demanded Lance.

“Who knows?” Coran was laughing now.

Lance grabbed the letter. “There’s got to be something else! Some clue as to who he is!”

The letter was simple, written on a formal letterhead that read “Kogane, Kogane, and Kogane, LLC”. It was exactly as Coran had described, except for the postscript that was handwritten at the bottom.

“Tell Lance he can keep the ring as a thank you for teaching me. – KK”

**Author's Note:**

> There's art of Lance in his waistcoat by the uber talented [Jenniwrites](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jenniwrites) on her Tumblr [paladinspride](https://paladinspride.tumblr.com/post/173310146579/i-decided-to-draw-edhelwen1-a-thing-for-being)! I am so honoured that my favourite artist wanted to draw something from this fic!  
> I commissioned more art by [Jenni](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jenniwrites) on her Tumblr [paladinspride](https://paladinspride.tumblr.com/post/173622803014/a-commission-i-did-for-edhelwen1-to-go-with-her). You should definitely follow her, because she posts new art all the time and it's so gorgeous!


End file.
